MANHATTAN — “I have plans, and I have backup plans,” explained retired Staff Sgt. Joe Pascanic, a former recruiter for the U.S. Army. “That’s one thing I learned in the military. Always have your Plan B, and your Plan C.”

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, has launched a bold new “tough on crime” initiative that would imprison or fine shareholders for corporate crimes committed in their name. Punishment would depend on the severity of the crime and the number of shares owned.

An experimental new program spearheaded by the Department of Justice and the Department of Corrections will place federal and state lawmakers, criminal court prosecutors and judges, wardens, and guards in five randomly-chosen prisons for a period of three days per year.

Revisions in the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (S.2029) will now make it a Class D federal felony for physicians to accept more than $25 annually in gifts or other rewards from pharmaceutical companies or biological product and medical device manufacturers.

This special edition of The New York Times comes from a future in which we are accomplishing what we know today to be possible.
The dozens of volunteer citizens who produced this paper spent the last eight years dreaming of a better world for themselves, their friends, and any descendants they might end up having. Today, [...]

Two years ago, who would have dared to image we’d elect, as President of the United States, an African-American community organizer?
Six months ago, who would have predicted we’d enact universal health care, reform our education system, establish a maximum wage and “true cost” tax, and start taking steps to make our cities more livable — [...]